The Boscombe Bowmen is the name given by archaeologists to a group of early Bronze Age (Bell Beaker) people found in a shared burial at Boscombe Down in Amesbury () near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.

Discovery

The burials were found in 2003 during roadworks being carried out on behalf of Qinetiq, the contractor that operates the Boscombe Down military airfield. The site is near a group of houses (known as Lower Camp) in Amesbury which are associated with the airfield (which lies to the east).

The burials

The grave contained the remains of at least nine individuals including several juveniles, five adult males and the cremated remains of an infant. The broad date range is an artefact of the ranges of radiocarbon dates for different remains and archaeologists believe the grave was in use over a much shorter timescale of 25–50 years.

Display

The finds are on display at the Wessex Gallery of Archaeology, which opened at the Salisbury Museum in 2014.

The bowmen feature as characters in Mark Patton's novel Undreamed Shores, and part of the storyline is based on the circumstances of their burial.

See also

  • Amesbury Archer
  • Stonehenge Archer

References

  • Wessex Archaeology: The Boscombe Bowmen